


Sunshine And Mirth

by NightAndDae



Series: The Unlikely But Powerhouse Couple: Asano and Nakamura [1]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Asano and Rio romance, Asano is also a flirt even though he has the emotional range of an millimeter..?, Asano needs romance help, Confessions, Crack, Embarassment, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Karma can see right through your bs, Karma ships them too much, Kissing, Light profanity, Rare Pairings, Rio and Karma's friendship is the best, Romance, They both get flustered equally, all of them need help, complicated feelings, cute phone calls and face times, someone needs to teach Asano what human emotions are, they're both snivelling shits, untimely moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25138180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightAndDae/pseuds/NightAndDae
Summary: "Her voice and lips are like sunshine and mirth"ORRio decides to test her hit kissing ability of Asano for kicks, except Asano doesn't know that and in his perspective, had just been aggressively kissed by the girl heswearshe doesn't have a soft spot for in any way shape or form. Predictably, flusterdness and teasing ensues.
Relationships: Akabane Karma & Asano Gakushuu & Nakamura Rio, Akabane Karma/Nakamura Rio, Asano Gakushuu/Nakamura Rio
Series: The Unlikely But Powerhouse Couple: Asano and Nakamura [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821991
Comments: 27
Kudos: 70





	1. 1

As Rio finally detached herself from the lips of Isogai, rather apologetically as she saw the poor guy’s weak stance, she was greeted with aspiring looks of awe from the onlooking females, and an well impressed Irina.

For context purposes, Irina had taken it upon herself to teach the females of Class E seduction techniques, insisting it was an needed skill in the life of an assassin. While the boys went out and were taught by Karasuma, the females were being taught about hit kisses, with Isogai unfortunately used as the one taking the kisses. Of course, when Irina had mentioned they needed an male to practice on, other boys in the class had eagerly offered themself up, but was rejected in nearly half a second. Ultimately, Irina decided upon Isogai as their victim. At the very least, Isogai was an gentleman, or at least not an perverted hormone infused teen, so they would take what they could get.

After an brief demonstration, Rio Nakamura went up first to test out the instructions. Needles to say, she had nearly wiped the floor with Isogai, dealing him a 31 hit and leaving the poor guy stunned and breathless.

“Wow! That was totally amazing!” Kayano’s voice broke the stunned silence, breaking into an light applause. “31 hits, Rio?! I can barely even do five!” 

“I agree. That was quite an feat for someone your age. Let’s say we try to up it a notch next time, hm?” Irina nodded her approval, and then turned to the male victim himself. She delivered an light kick to his side; but not as aggressive as she usually would, she was partial to the kid since he was an relatively innocent and sweet kid. “Hey, do you want us to replace you are you going to keep dying there?”

Isogai only responded with heavy breathing, before grinning sheepishly. “I may have just got the wind knocked out of me for a second, sorry.” He turned to Rio. “That was a good run, Nakamura, that would render any guy to his knees” He said appraisingly, and Rio beamed back at him, pleased. She then tilted her head to the side thoughtfully.

“Yea, I just wish I had an harder target, I feel like I would be able to focus more and see what it would really be like to use it forcefully, y’know? ” Rio rubbed the back of her head, only to shoot Isogai an apologetic glance. “No offense or anything, prince poverty.” Aforementioned Prince Poverty waved an dismissive hand.

“None taken.” He said cheerfully, and paused when he saw Irina nodding thoughtfully at the blonde’s words.

“You’re right, an hit kiss really is dependant on the target. It’s a shame there isn’t someone else who would be more difficult..” She paused, tapping her chin with fine manicured nails, and then blinked as if realization had dawned upon her. She snapped her fingers with an resounding click. “I think I’ve got the next target.”

“Alright, shoot.” Rio said easily as the other girls leaned in curiously.

Irina pointed a finger at the blonde haired teen determinedly. “Your next target is that orange haired brat from Class A.”

There was dead, profound silence.

Then the room exploded into noise.

“Asano?! Professor bitch, are you crazy!?” Toka shrieked.

“Imagine our reputation once word gets out that Nakamura randomly made out with the principals son! No way!”

“He’s such an bastard, too! You can’t subject Nakamura to that!”

“That’s humiliating!”

Irina set her teeth, an large tic mark bulging on the side of her face. “SHUT UP!” She roared, breaking into the squabbling complaints. She composed herself, exhaling deeply before continuing. “Alright, let me get one thing straight to you. This is not some teen crush crap I’m subjecting her to! This is for practice. This type of practice is vital for an assassin. There is training you’re not going to like, and this is probably it. So get over it, or leave if you can’t stand the heat!” She snapped sharply.

The girls were quiet, mumbling amongst themselves, before Hinano hesitated. “Well, we know that, professor bitch, but really! Couldn’t you choose Karma or something? Asking her to take on Asano is too much!”

Irina shook her head defiantly. “No if’s ands, or buts! No seductress can pick and choose her targets, it just doesn’t work that way, darlings. I don’t want to go into detail about how many crusty old men I’ve had to seduce!” The girls quickly quieted at that sentence, openly shuddering in repulsion as cursed mental images flared in their minds.

“Now.” Irina said, much more composed. “Nakamura. I haven’t heard your input.” She turned to the blonde, who was surprisingly collected about the whole ordeal, watching her classmates squabble over each other with an readily amused expression. “You asked for an harder target, and I’m giving to you. Do you accept it?”

Rio hadn’t disclosed this information to just anyone, but the blonde was actually quite closer to Gakushuu than others would imagine. Everyone knew that Karma and Asano had an heated rivalry, but what they didn’t know was that the third blonde headed genius was left out of the loop, and instead formed an friendly relationship with Asano.

She wasn’t even sure how it happened, she was dragged into an discussion with Karma and Asano, and it somehow escalated from there. God forbid the two actually hung out after school, but had civilized talks and even teased each other from time to time concerning grades when given the chance. But they both knew that they wouldn’t disclose of their not-so-bitter rivalry, due to the genuine bitter rivalry between the two classes.

Still, despite their distant friendship that could surely be broken at a single reckless kiss like this, she couldn’t help but wonder what Asano’s face would look after she would execute the action on him. No doubt the little bastard’s face would look as if he had stepped in a pile of dogshit. Priceless. She should bring Karma with her to record evidence. And it was for practice, anyways, and she had to concede that Asano would be a tough nut to crack.

‘I am up for a little entertainment..and this is for my personal gain..’ Finally, Rio caved in with herself, and then smiled at Irina. “Deal. I’ll accept it.” Seeing Irina’s surprise written under her face, Rio shrugged. “Like you said, it’s training, right? It’s not always something that’s easy or desirable, this’ll just be a first step.”

Irina nodded her satisfaction with her response. "Alright. That's settled. Now, onto the next person. Kayano, get up here!" While Irina was busying herself with intructions, Rio slid just out the entrance of the room as her phone, which had been buzzing the entire time, buzzed once more in the pocket of her skirt. Once out of range, she leaned against the hallway wall near the entrance and scrolld through her notifications.

_(1 missed call from Karma)_

_(2 unread messages from Karma)_

_Karma: I guess I shouldn’t have called you while you were in class._

_Karma: So, you’re really going to do it?_

Rio blinked, realizing just then, as she poked her head into the classroom, that outside the window, she saw the lightest hint of crimson hair poking out from the corner. The sneaky bastard must’ve been listening in the entire time instead of attending Karasuma's class. Grinning rather proudly, she texted back. 

_Rio: You bet. I want to see the expression the snotty shit'll make. I’d figure it’d sink his reputation too. What’s worse than the top student having an alleged make out session with an Class E delinquent?_

_Karma: Huh. Thought you two were friends?_

_Rio: Please, Asano's an rival, and anyways, the little prick had it coming for him_

_Karma: But you’re on a first name basis, hm?_

_Rio: That’s not important_

_Rio: What’s important is that I need someone to help me film Asano’s reaction after I do  
the liplock action on him. Perfect blackmail material. You know anyone up for the job?_

_Karma: I may_

_Karma: 6 a.m. tomorrow at the main campus hallway?_

Rio grinned. She could always trust her partner in crime. 

_Rio: You betcha_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inhales*  
> *exhales*  
> ALRIGHT, HERE WE ARE WITH ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM RAREPAIRING. LET'S GET IT.  
> I know Nakamura and Asano may seem like an odd pairing, but I really like the sound of the two together. An ballsy, intellctual, perverted girl, with an equally intellctual, uptight, tsundere boy. It's an perfect pairing that I made completely up in my head and now I'm invested.  
> MALDAPTIVE DAYDREAMERS R I S E.  
> You'll definitely be seeing more of this; this is supposed to be a oneshot but may end up being an chapter due to my poor planning skills.  
> See you guys in the next part!


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an unexpected (but definitely not unwanted (?)) call

_(context note: This is the same day)_

Asano Gakushuu was halfway through memorizing his world history textbook when his phone rang.

The junior high president had arrived home at 9:00 P.M, as per usual . His extracurriculars and PTA meeting that his father dragged him into left him with very little time for his schoolwork. Of course, nighttime always held more hours, but not as focused and promising as afternoon ones.

So, with that reasoning in mind, Asano promptly ignored the call, letting his annoying ringtone quietly sing on the edge of his desk before falling silent. He was determined on not wasting any time.

A mere minute had passed when his phone rang again, and Asano this time had the grace to scowl at whoever was on the other side calling him again. He doubted it was of anyone of importance; he had specialized ringtones for them so he knew when to pick up. And, only hearing his default ringtone, Asano exhaled in an exasperated manner and returned his eyes back to his book.

Five minutes passed.

The phone rang again.

Finally giving in with an growling exhale, he reached over, muttering a _‘For the sake of the caller’s life, I hope this is important’_ through grinding teeth before taking his phone and holding it to his ear.

“Hello, this Asano Gakushuu, how can I help you?” He asked in his standard greeting, his smooth, charming voice almost disgustingly contrasting his mind conjuring up images of strangling the caller with his bare hands.

“Geez, took you long enough to pick up, your highness.” A female voice came out on the other end. Asano’s cautious and tense demeanor faded away. He’d recognize that heckling sassy voice, threaded with sunshine and mirth anywhere. It was too unique for one to forget easily.

“Nakamura.” Asano said shortly, his voice still carrying the sharp diplomatic edge. It was true, the two were friendly and got along well at the best of times. What with Asano’s uptight demeanor and Rio’s leveling carefree persona, Asano easily tolerated her to a certain degree. However, that certain degree involved not calling him three times in a row consecutively while he was busy. “What do you want?”

“Someone sure sounds pissy.” Nakamura’s voice said bemusedly. “Did I catch you at the wrong time?”

“Yes. That’s why I rejected your call three times.” Asano deadpanned, holding the phone with his shoulder as he rearranged his folders. A cross between an amused and insulted noise escaped Nakamura on the other end.

“Well, I am known for my persistence,” Nakamura said airly, her voice flouncy. “It can’t be helped.” At that Asano raised an eyebrow even if he knew that she couldn’t see him. Persistent?

_‘Perhaps more of a blatant shamelessness.’_

Asano’s brow creased, realizing his expression had softened. Well, that tone in his thought was a new one. Or was it? He felt as if he had that expression somewhere before. Was it around Nakamura?

It occurred to Asano just then that Nakamura in the midst of his bewilderness fell into an pensive thoughtful silence, and gave an sudden resigned sigh. “But I suppose it can’t be helped, if your highness is so busy, I’ll just call you later.” She said. Her voice went off an end, signifying the end of the conversation.

“Wait.”

Asano blinked, realizing he himself had just said that, not his mind. Why did he say that? He didn’t mean to say it; it just unconsciously slipped out. Five seconds ago, he wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his work, now he stopped Nakamura from hanging up? Was this perhaps an odd mood swing?

“What is it?” Nakamura’s ears didn’t go unnoticed of Asano’s momentary slip up. “Do you want me to talk or not?”

Asano pinched the bridge of his nose, collecting his thoughts. It would be much more undignified to brush off his sudden intervention at this point, even if he didn’t know why he said it. “Just..keep on talking. You’re wasting my time enough as it is, it would be more beneficial to waste it all at once rather than sporadic bursts of you were to call back.” He stated matter of factly.

“Well..alright, whatever you say, your highness.” Nakamura’s voice sounded effectively bemused, and Asano felt an odd sort of chagrin, wondering if he shouldn’t have rambled about wasting time. Odd. “Anyways, I wanted to ask you for help on something.”

Instantly, Asano’s partiality to the conversation shut down at her last sentence. Of course. Why else would she call the top student out of the blue when they only talked scarcely? She wanted something from him. They always did.

He was used to this.

So why was he feeling disappointed?

“I see.” Asano’s voice came out more clipped and jagged than he had intended it to be; which was much unlike him. When angry or irritated, his voice would become distant and diplomatic, his tone carrying the kindness of an viper hiding it’s fangs. He never outwardly showed his irritation like this.

Odd.

“Yea, so,” Nakamura continued, seemingly oblivious to his dip in his mood. “Here’s the deets. I want to improve on something that I learned in school today, and I think if I...show it to you, it’ll help me understand the..concept better.”

Asano blinked. “That’s it?” He asked reflexively, his dull tone seemingly brightening. He had expected her to ask for something more, like after school tutoring, bribing the principal to raise her grade, etc, etc. Asking him to help her with a school subject was an fairly simple request.

“Yes, that’s it. Will or will it not be an waste of your time?” She asked, the taunting smile in her voice all too evident.

Asano was all too tempted to point out that this call itself was a waste of time, because she could have just approached him about it in an two second conversation. Instead, he decided to humor her in Asano fashion, which was responding with a dry, “I believe not.” He leaned over and pulled out his planner to remember Nakamura’s favor. “What time and place and how long will it take?”

“Woah, there, Mr. Big Shot, hold your OCD.” Nakamura said. “What is this, am in a corporate job or something?”

“Well, my schedule requires punctuality. I’m going to need the location and times, Nakamura.” He said, clicking his pen.

“Sheesh, alright, alright!” Nakamura chuffed exasperatedly. “Let me think...Uh..6:00 a.m? In front of class A?” She asked questioningly as if thinking over her response in her head.

“Is that a question or an answer, Nakamura?” He was surprised by himself at the sudden teasing note in his voice in such a circumstance. Maybe he shouldn’t continue talking to Nakamura, he may pick up some of her bad habits.

“Take it as whatever you want, Gakushuu.” Nakamura’s response flashed back. For a girl who couldn’t decide on a location and time, she sure had a quick mouth. “This your time, ultimately, not mine. Would be a shame if I just stood you up and left you standing there.” She said in an sing-song, ending it with a mischievous chuckle.

“One could argue it would be your time,” Asano responded. He wasn’t as quick witted as Nakamura, but his mind was nimble enough to come up with appropriate responses. “Alright then.” He said briskly. “6:00 a.m, outside of Class A. I suppose I’ll see you then, granted you don’t stand me up.”

“Ooh, don’t count on it.” Nakamura grinned. “Thanks, by the way, for, y’know, accepting my request.” Her voice stumbled slightly, and then caught itself back up at the end of her sentence.

Asano blinked, somehow unable to find an appropriate response to that. He was accustomed to being thanked, but instead of responding in an airy Asano fashion, he simply stared, utterly stupified for a split second. 

Thankfully, Asano was blessed with an nimble and keenly self aware mind, so it only took him half a second to realize his odd reaction to her graditude. He cleared his throat. "Uh-yes. Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow, then, Nakamura”

“That sounds like a good-bye if I’ve ever heard one. Don’t tell me you’re hanging up already, don’t you have time to spare?” She asked, her voice feigning surprise.

Asano’s smile quirked up the edge of his lips awkwardly; it was safe to say he wasn’t used to smiling.“Yes, but not with you.”

Nakamura snorted. “How rude. But understandable. I’ll see you later. Bye, Asano.”

“Good-bye, Nakamura.”

The click of the line signified the call, returning him back to the home screen. Asano blinked back at the home screen, feeling somewhat dazed. That was an foreign feeling. He wasn’t sure if he had ever had such an conversation with anyone like that before.

No, he had. With Nakamura, a few times, and with Akabane, if they were both in particularly forgiving moods. But something had changed. The dynamics had shifted a bit, and it seemed as if it had been growing overtime and now decided to show itself.

But from what?

Was that what Asano would call a pleasant conversation?

A conversation with an friend?

An good friend?

Or-

The clatter of the pen rolling off from his desk and making direct contact with his floor cut off Asano’s thoughts. He jumped, and then glanced at the clock. 9:11 p.m. He had done nothing while on the phone with Nakamura, didn’t even multi-task like he usually would. That was ten minutes gone. He had already forgotten half of what he had memorized.

However, he didn’t lament over it as he usually would, or criticize himself for the lost time Instead, wordlessly, Asano scrolled through his contacts, and then clicked on Nakamura’s contact information.

And, selecting the ringtone settings, specialized it to a different ringtone.

He didn’t to miss her next call.

\-------------------

Nakamura grinned in satisfaction as she hung up. Well, that didn’t go bad at all. The guy accepted her request without a fight. Granted, she did know the two were acquaintances-friends at best-but she expected him to at least ask for something in return. Instead, he took it into stride, and the two actually shared a pleasant conversation.

If she were being completely honest, Nakamura’s saintful side was now feeling a bit guilty knowing full well what she was about to hit Asano with. But the prospect was too tempting to pass up, and besides, she had already gone this far. And, she had the grace to call him up and give him some context so he wouldn’t die of a heart attack She had already done her job.

Now it was Asano’s turn. And all he had to do was give Nakamura the reaction she wanted.

\-----------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally got Asano's perspective! I must admit I struggled quite a bit with the dialogue between the two; Nakamura's personality is harder to write than I first presumed..  
> Anyways, thank you for reading! See you in the next chapter


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "experiment" finally comes into play, and it does not look too good for Asano

It had never been a more god forsaken day for Asano.

After an fulfilling half hour of sleep, he awoke to his father yelling on the phone (which was never a good sign, rest assured) to an poor employee, who presumably got his ass handed to him on an silver platter. In that turn of events, it resulted in his father dearest stewing in an darkened, sadistic mood.

Asano knew better than to stick around when his father was acting in such an way. So with an logical mindset, Asano briskly exited his house, hair still damp from an half finished shower, only realizing too late he had used that _horrid_ shampoo his father had gotten as a gift that smelled like his grandmother's perfume and rose manure, and tired to the boot.

Feeling drained of confidence and energy, Asano stumbled up the stairs of the main campus at 6:00 sharp. Once on the top of the stairs, he stumbled down the hall towards the Class A classroom, grousing under his breath about certain stupid fatherly figures, the lack of caffine in his house, and the never ending stress of the education system. Whilst caught up in his grumbling laments, he realized just a heartbeat too late he had walked straight into another person, resulting in a messy but unfatal collision.

“Uh-woah! Easy there. Looks like your highness got up on the wrong side of his royal trundle, huh?”

The hectoring, obnoxious, breezy voice he knew that belonged to only one specific person. The person he had just walked headfirst into. Asano paused, the automatic brittle apology falling short in his throat as he looked up, coming face to face with none other than Karma Akabane.

The redhead, now reeled back an few steps, pulled away as he regarded Asano with an breezy and heckling smile. Asano also backed up an good few paces away from Karma, not bothering or planning to apologize for bumping into him. He didn’t remember it at the moment, but he was sure if he dug up some of his past history involved with Akabane, he could find something that was worthy of that collision. Karma, if you would.

“Akabane.” He said, his voice losing it’s jagged diplomatic edge that he wore around others. Akabane was his rival, there was no need to put up an facade. He had already seen what he was truly like, in one way or another. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asked flatly, not bothering to cover up the sarcasm in his voice. There was no trace of friendliness to his sardonic tone, but there was an hidden gem of respect that he didn’t put in his tone on an daily basis.

“Funny you should ask. Actually, I’m here to buy some time for an certain accomplice of mine. There’s something that she needs to test out.” Asano carefully gauged Akabane’s expression as he spoke, because he had the liberty to go ahead and assume this experiment involved Asano directly. Akabane wouldn’t be coming to him for any old reason during this time of day.

“Test out. As in experiment.” He stated flatly, and then blinked, realizing something. “Nakamura?” Asano asked before he could stop himself. He hadn’t forgotten about it-much to his confusion-but this morning was simply so hectic it almost fell off his plate of priorities.

Akabane blinked back at him, looking a tad surprised, and then melted his face into an grin. “Well, call me surprised. That Nakamura was sure you would forget, since your highness has so many other responsibilities to tend to.”

Asano shot an exasperated glance at the redhead’s direction, hoping his displeasure at the sarcasm in his voice was evident. “If my memory stands corrected, she should be here now. I’d suggest you find your..accomplice, and tell her I’m not going to wait any longer than I have to-” He stopped when Akabane’s eyes strayed away, then stopping, catching sight of something obviously behind Asano. The redhead’s face broke into an satisfied grin as he waved an hand. Aforementioned redhead flashed an smug grin at Asano.

“Oh, well would you look at that? Guess our timing worked out perfectly.” He projected his voice out louder. “Great timing. Though I didn’t expect you so early, Nakamura.”

“Yea, thank my alarm clock, huh?” That voice of sunshine and mirth that Asano had heard in his call last night came resonating behind him, and Asano turned to face Nakamura. He flicked an eyebrow up at Nakamura as an form of question, but she simply smiled back at him.

“Thanks for standing in, dear.” Nakamura strode up to the pair and patted Akabane’s shoulder, who smirked upon hearing the sardonic endearment. She then glanced at Asano. “Glad to see you remembered, your highness.”

Asano grunted in response, not able to find the suitable words. Biting back scrapped sentences he tried to come up with, he finally settled with, “I believe you required my assistance?”

“Exactly.” She flashed him an smile. “I must say, I’m impressed. Didn’t know a delinquent like me could catch the prince’s attention.”

Asano’s mouth flicked up into what he knew was a genuine smile but, by default, passed off as a smirk. “Hm. Don’t delusion yourself, is all I can say.”

Nakamura responded with an sassy flip of her hair. “Oh, yea, you go and talk all that high handed crap you want.” She flapped an hand dismissively in his direction. “After all, this is your time, isn’t it? As a certain someone said,” She pinched the bridge of her nose, making her voice go up an nasally hectoring octave. “' _My schedule requires punctuality, Nakamura._ '” It took Asano a moment to realize she was mimicking him. She was quoting their conversation from last night, the sassy little nuisance.

Asano’s standard reaction to such an poor imitation of himself would be one of resentment and exasperation. And if he was in a bad mood as such, would probably throw out a _‘I’d like to see you after school ends to discuss your punishment for your insolence_ ’

However, instead he felt his smirk widen more than he was comfortable with, feeling the sides of his mouth melt into odd and unfamiliar territory as an amused, softened smile whisp on his lips.

It then only took Asano half a second to realize that not only was Akabane regarding him with an smug and triumphant smirk, but his min-friends were behind him, clustered by the door. Other students were also milling about, regarding the odd group in confusion. The bell had rang a bit ago, and now the students were filing into the main campus. They must have been notified by the odd grup of the class president and two clas E students both talking.

“Asano!” Ren said, an look of confusion painting his features as he regarded his friend. “Why are you talking to those guys?” He said, saying ‘those guys’ as if he was referring to dead corpses getting eaten alive by maggots.

Asano stared back at them. Something hot and spiking within him tightened as he realized that they had all witnessed his momentary vulnerability, and he felt himself shut down almost instantly.

“Ah, just conversing about agreements over our grades.” Said Asano crisply, his demeanor the shining example of someone _not_ drowning in seas of panic. (Although, if asked, could not answer as to why he was panicking so much.) Class A and B students heading to their classes stopped momentarily, listening in shamelessly. “And, if you would allow us a few moments alone, I’m sure we could finish this up quickly.” Asano’s set in panic made his tone more sharper and demanding than usual, and some took the hint, trying to make their eavesdropping less obvious.

Asano whirled back around, feeling much less relaxed than he was a few moments ago. “I’m giving you thirty seconds to finish whatever business you have with me- we’re attracting attention.” He whispered bitingly.

Contrary to Asano’s flustered state, Nakamura smiled easily as she exchanged a glance with Akabane. “Well, that’s a shame.” she sighed dramatically, running a hand through her hair. “I was going to exchange some more small talk to ease you in so you won’t die from the impact.”

It was quite a shame that Asano didn’t take more heed into what Nakamura had meant by ‘die from the impact.’ Instead, all he could feel was his friend’s and the student’s eyes burning into his back. He could already anticipate the rumors and gossip in his head surrounding this.

His mind whirling, Asano glared fiercely at Nakamura “Nakamura, I don’t have time for this. Either shut up and leave, or do what you planned to do right this instant-”

It was at that moment that time stopped.

One could theorize it was because a sudden transient tear in the parallel of their dimensions caused the time zones to collide.

Another could claim the world had ended at that moment and Asano’s brain had simply not caught up with it, thus causing an illusion of the haltage of time.

Or, more infinitely likely, it was because Nakamura grabbed Asano’s tie, and before he could finish his sentence, kissed him. Right in the hall, with every student there watching, with his friends watching, with Karma watching (was he holding a phone?), and him, right there in the spotlight.

There was no meticulous planning, no educated guesses by renowned philosophers, none of them would have prepared Asano correctly for what Nakamura just did to him. The time and place crashed behind Asano like shattering glass the moment he felt Nakamura’s lips on his. Everything was spinning out of control, his stance stiffened, completely caught off guard, now completely unaware of his surroundings.

His vision could barely distinguish his surroundings, only barely able to make out Nakamura’s radiant blonde hair. He couldn’t hear the ring of the bell, the shocked cries of the onlookers, the snapping shuttering from phones. The only thing his senses were zeroed in on was Nakamura’s lips pressed on his. His mind screamed, every fragment of him stiffening and boiling over as his eyes, wide open, flickered around wildly.

What.

Was.

Happening?

His mind was too busy running amuck, preoccupied with the fact that he was currently getting kissed, so he was unable to identify why Nakamura kissed him in the first place. Instead, Asano’s instincts kicked in, and, quickly trying to grab the reins, found Nakamura’s shoulders and tried pushing her away from him. To his own shock, instead of pulling back, Nakamura simply resisted it and kissed him harder.

It was in that moment that Asano suddenly felt as if something had been unleashed. His head suddenly pounded, his pulse tightening, his energy seemingly diminishing from him as she pressed her lips against his. He made an strangled sort of sound, muffled by Nakamura’s lips as she wound her hands around his tie tighter.

Overwhelmed with red hazed panic and the overwhelming desire to escape this situation, Asano made an last ditch attempt yanked himself backwards, nearly making him fall backwards. Once he broke away, it was as if the spell had been broken. His senses were now more keenly aware. The blood rushed back to his lips, the feeling returning back to his body.

The only thing not in place was his mind.

“You-what-I-” Asano stumbled over his words, barely even able to tell what was coherent at this point. He willed his mind to calm down, but it still was all over the place, not able to recover from the shock. An tight frown formed on his face, confusion the only emotion he felt. “-What?” He finally asked helplessly, his words breaking out in bewildered staccatos.

“Woah!” Akabane laughed. “Prince has got his tongue tied, huh? Thanks for the show chief, that was quite something.” He said easily, saving something from his phone as he shot his rival a physcopathic grin.

Approximately eight seconds had passed since Nakamura’s kiss, and in those eight seconds now Asano found himself backed up against Ren, who looked equally horrified and intrigued, an half ring of students surrounding them with their phones whipped out, and an delighted looking Akabane.

It was then that the weight of what happened finally plunged down on Asano. He had just been kissed by Rio Nakamura. In front of everyone. An crimson red, harsher than an wildfire, lapped up Asano’s pale features in an brilliant flame. His face’s temperature was the approximate temperature of the insides of an furnace, and he wondered briefly if he was going to pass out from how hot he felt.

“Shame he wasn’t able to even withstand two hits.” Akabane spoke again, looking forlorn as he scrolled through his phone with his thumb. “Guess your training went to waste, Nakamura.”

Nakamura. It was one of the few thoughts that Asano was able to grab hold of and process through.He glanced up, realizing she was beside Akabane with an smile on her face as she regarded him with those snapping blue eyes.

Her. The one that called him last night. The one that was able to make him smile in his odd, twisted, but genuine way.

The one that just kissed him.

Asano’s chest tightened as his face flamed over again, which was what he guessed was an aftermath of the shock. Nakamura blinked once upon seeing his expression, and then huffed out an smug smile.

“Didn’t expect his highness to be such a lightweight. I wasn’t aware hit kisses were such an fatal blow on you, Asano.” She chuckled, obviously not aware of his external mental breakdown he was having.

“Hey, you american looking freak!” Shouted Seo, abandoning his former look of disgust to jump in defense for his president. “How dare you sexually assault Class A’s top student!”

Nakamura exhaled heavily, looking exasperated. “Sexually assaulted? Oh please, you lot are just a load of bullcrap. This was just for entertainment and/or training purposes.” She waved an hand. “Have fun trying to send us to court for that.”

Seo ground his teeth in exasperation, obviously biting back very indecent words. “Why are you even here? Just to harass Asano?”

Karma chuckled, obviously amused by the reaction they were receiving. “Actually, we were here on a sort of mission-but it seems that your highness isn’t fit for the job.” He then paused, face morphing into an shit eating grin as he shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned towards Asano. “But we most certainly did learn one thing. Our little prince is quite easily willed by a certain someone, isn’t he?”

Asano was much too dignified to splutter, but if he could, he most definitely would have done such. Simply because his mind had blown one too many fuses at that moment-too many events that he had never prepared or experienced before had occurred at such rapid fire speed. Nakamura kissed him, everyone was watching, Karma claimed that he liked (?) His mind couldn’t conjure up an solution nor response adequate for such an situation. He was at an complete loss.

Until Asano remembered he mastered in the art of emotional suppression. If he could remember, his father did that quite a bit as well. Shut down every emotion and voice in his head for an undefined period of time behind an smile. Of course, there was claims that such an coping mechanism ‘unhealthy’ and, true, his father did end up hitting breaking points when he finally was at home, but the most important thing was that it saved face.

So Asano decided to push down everything that was happening at the moment. He could relive and analyze it through later, but not now. Not with so many eyes on him. He was the president of Class A-how undignified would it be for him to be rendered speechless by something as trivial as a kiss? Suppress the flusteredness and confusion as much as he could, grab hold of the reins of his mind. That would be the only way for him to avoid embarrassment and an unattractive anxiety attack.

Asano rose on shaking legs, the only thing keeping from buckling down being his renewed sense of determination and bi-suppressed emotions, intent on his goal. Distracted by Asano’s sudden movement, Ren blinked, then tentatively asked, “Asano?” There was an careful hesitation in his voice, displaying the awareness and caution that other students didn’t have regarding Asano. Only he understood how terrifying and unpredictable Asano could be at times.

Upon hearing Ren’s voice, all the other students quieted, eyes trained on the now standing president. Would he scream? Yell? Cry? Perhaps whip them all out of the school for humiliating him?

Contrary to their expectations, Asano instead turned to the ring of students with the most diplomatic and classy smile one could muster. “Now, now, there’s no need to blow this all out of proportion.” He turned to Rio and Karma with a smile that looked strained to its barest thread. “Nakamura, I can pardon your intrusion just this once. I’d advise you don’t do this sort of thing again.” Said he, with an diplomatic that could cut glass and most certainly an human body. “ And If you pardon me, class has started. Let’s not all be running late now, hm?” He implored with an aura that one would take caution of. The rest of the student body quickly rushed into the direction of their respective classes, and Asano smiled in satisfaction. Crisis averted.

Asano beckoned to his minions to also head into class, casting an furtive glance behind him to see Nakamura and Akabane passing by him. He didn’t plan to give any parting words, but he certainly needed to say something. However, before Asano could conjure up suitable words, Karma clapped his shoulder.

“Big words for somebody who was just an kiss away from fainting just now.” Before Asano could do something entirely violent, Akabane gave an smile of all teeth, malicious and devious. “But we’ll let you off the hook this time, your highness. After all, it’s always much more satisfying to watch the king’s fall when he’s still seated on his throne.” With that, he sailed past him with an air of triumph and dark promises.

Asano blinked in fury upon hearing the words bestowed upon him, face paled with rage. Had he just been played into a scheme of Akabane’s unknowingly? That would explain all of this. This was a plan to stain his reputation-to overthrow him. How blatantly naive of him. Asano ground his teeth together, irritated with the outcome of this situation. Since when was he so easily pliable? What was happening to him? This was all Nakamura’s doing. That meddlesome girl, if she only she hadn’t been able to convince him-

How was she able to convince him?

For a fleeting moment, he recalled the phone call, the kiss he just received.

Asano nearly dislocated his jaw clamping his teeth together as his face heated much to his humiliation. He must regain himself. These sort of thoughts were counter productive. His main goal now was to focus on pulling back the reins on the rumors and maintain his status. More work must be put in.

With an hardened resolve, Asano turned and strode towards the doors of Class A’s, doors, only to be met with Ren who was leaning against the wall, obviously waiting for him., Asano made an ushering hand movement, indicating for Ren to come back in the classroom, but as soon as he tried to sweep by, Ren spoke with an air of smugness and bemusement

“Your lips are all swollen.”

Asano’s hardened exterior leaked out of him like an deflated balloon, replacing with color flushing to his face. _For god’s sake-_

He swept an glare that could cut glass at him, instantly shutting his best friend up, and stormed into the classroom with as much dignity that he had been robbed of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aplogies for the extremely late update! I've been very busy as of late, but I'm glad to be back in my favorite fandom!   
> Also, side note, do not master in the art of emotional suppression like Asano here has done. It is extremely unhealthy and damaging to your mental health. Wish you all good health! ^^


End file.
